KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The skate park at Prairie Village's Harmon Park is a common hangout spot for many children.
The skate park was a grassroots effort by two teenagers in the early 2000s. One of them, Jake Shepard, died from cancer, two years before the project was complete.
The park is nearly 15 years old and is in need of some upgrades.
The city is holding a public meeting Thursday night to discuss preliminary designs. That meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Meadowbrook Clubhouse.
City leaders are looking for input from its youngest residents - the skateboarders who frequent the skate park.
"If we have a need to build the park, we just want them to get involved with it to make the park the best we can make it," Prairie Village Public Works Director, Keith Bredehoeft, said.
The concrete is deteriorating, and several cracks have formed throughout the years. Bredehoeft says the best solution is to remove it and replace it.
"While the park is still usable today, we want to make sure we won’t have to close it down in the near time," Bredehoeft said. "We want to make sure it’s rebuilt and replaced before it gets to that point."
Skateboarders shared their thoughts on what they'd like to see.
"Obstacles that are able to be used for a beginner and then me being a skateboarder for a long time, I want stuff that I can also skate on and will be challenging for me," skateboard instructor Dan Mapes said.
"I would like it to be double the size because that’s really better and more people can come here without crashing into other people," skateboarder Kasen Homrighausen said.
After Thursday's preliminary design meeting, there will be a final design plan meeting at the end of the year.
Construction is expected to start in March 2020 and finish up before the city's annual Jazz Fest.
